Advanced Physical Assessment
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The Shadow Health Virtual Assignment program has been quite beneficial in equipping me with the required knowledge of handling patients in primary care. By listening carefully to them explain their symptoms and figuring out the disease, one can incorporate differential diagnosis to achieve accuracy in diagnosis. An accurate disease diagnosis means a higher chance of giving the best prescription dosage or developing a treatment plan that works best for the patient (Raleigh & Allan, 2017). Through objective and subjective data collection methods, I was able to achieve a diagnosis and treatment.
Subjective data collected focused on the patient’s recent disease history through questions that would shed light on the symptoms. There was a good improvement in performance in analyzing subjective data to reach a diagnosis. The patient had to answer their experiences in breathing and bowel movements, any pains experienced, their level of frequency and intensity in alcohol consumption, and any family history and diets. These were beneficial in understanding the patient’s environment and what might have led to the exposure to the disease. The patient denies any conditions or diseases of the stomach and liver within the abdomen and is a low to moderate alcohol consumption. In collecting subjective data, the clinician must tell whether the patient is honest with their answers; this will help ensure the chances of misdiagnosis are minimized (Stasi et al., 2019).
Objective data in healthcare helps cement the nurse’s or clinician’s thought on the disease affecting an individual. Accurate data collection involves actively measuring and checking the patient’s body for any abnormalities related to the symptoms; for example, gastrointestinal tests check on the skin, abdomen, and stomach (Stasi et al., 2019). The test also looked and the patient’s respiratory condition by evaluating the breathing sounds and patterns. Through this comprehensive check-up, I achieved a better analysis. The high score achieved in this area indicates that it is a strong point for me; I can achieve an accurate and successful result in personally collected data.
The lower score in subjective data means that an accurate diagnosis of the disease would not be easy to achieve in some cases with comorbid disorders. I should make critical improvements in this field as every step-in primary care is essential and a determinant of the patient’s recovery speed. Differential diagnosis on the patient ruled that the patient may have a severe exposure to bowel anal fissures, haemorrhoids, and colon cancer. The decision was driven by the symptoms delivered, objective results collected, and the present history of colon cancer in the family’s past.
Providing the patient with necessary preventative and care measures is a primary care strategy where the nurse advises the patient on how to take care of themselves to prevent a disease’s severity or contract it (Stasi et al., 2019). For example, the patient was instructed to achieve a proper diet, and I proposed a developed diet plan. It helped ensure an adequate amount of nutrients and calories are consumed daily, thus, speeding up the recovery process. In addition, the patient should receive medication to handle the minor issues that accompany bowel discomfort and anal fissures. A close analysis of both data sets also achieved proper diagnosis and patient teaching; this shows critical thinking in decision making.
References
Raleigh, M., & Allan, H. (2017). A qualitative study of advanced nurse practitioners’ use of physical assessment skills in the community: shifting skills across professional boundaries. Journal of clinical nursing, 26(13-14), 2025-2035.
Stasi, C., Caserta, A., Nisita, C., Cortopassi, S., Fani, B., Salvadori, S., … & Bellini, M. (2019). The complex interplay between gastrointestinal and psychiatric symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome: A longitudinal assessment. Journal of gastroenterology and hepatology, 34(4), 713-719.